MarLex 100 Themes Challenge
by xxSkitten
Summary: 100 Themes of Marluxia/Lexaeus...watch these two as they go through life in the Castle That Never Was, which is a far from normal life, mind you. DISCONTINUED.
1. Indroduction

**I told you all I'd be back. |3 Now, I return with a MarLex-themed 100 Themes Challenge. Be afraid. Be amazed.**

**Anyways, enjoy! |3**

_1__I_n_t_r_o_d_u_c_t_i_o_n1

--x--x--x--x--x--

"I am pleased to announce…that a new comrade has been chosen to wear the coat."

A heavy silence hung over the massive white room, the only sound being the steady clink of a pair of familiar boots as a medium-length, cloaked figure walked to the center of the stage, face hidden by a dark hood.

"Number XI."

Said being shifted its head up, surveying the ten other creatures on the immensely elevated podiums; nearly all of them had their hoods up, save for the sole figure who was brazen enough to keep it down, even when introduced to this strange new life.

It was perched on a medium-height podium. The being settled in the chair took up nearly all the space it in. It had short, hazel-colored hair, slicked back until the ends were pointing opposite of its head. "XI" couldn't help but notice the eyes, ice-blue like a frozen lake. Even now, from far down below, it could sense the power radiating from this being.

"XI, please remove your hood."

As the soft-strong voice reached the being's ears, XI silently cringed in its mind. It was not looking forward to this moment, and now, everyone was going to see why.

It removed its hood swiftly, as if to get it over as hastily as possible. Pink locks swarmed to meet its shoulders, finally free from the fabric that bound it moments before. Natural spike complexion mixed with dusty rose-color combined to make a very…interesting style.

It waited. Sure enough, he heard a sly titter coming from the second-highest podium, soon joined by various others, creating uproars of laughter within the room spacious room, echoing almost mockingly in XI's ears. Cerulean eyes blinked twice in response. Now, being without a heart, their laughter didn't hurt…very much. It was still the slightest remembrance of hurt; this was definitely not the first time this has happened.

"Enough."

The room was deathly silent once more. XI didn't know whether to be relieved or apprehensive--what now?

"Study the being you see before you, as he is your new comrade for as long as Kingdom Hearts lay unfinished--"

"_He?_" The familiar voice from before rang with defiance, dripping with sarcasm. "Never would have guessed!"

As the room crowed with laughter once again, seeming suspiciously louder than before, XI fisted his hands. Fighting back an indignant growl from the back of his throat, he struggled to remain calm, reminding himself how undignified it would look for him to snap in this particular situation, in front of his new Superior.

"That's quite enough, Xigbar."

The pink-haired man snapped his head to the deep voice, almost monotone save for the hint of anger and annoyance riddled deep within it. He was slightly surprised to see the bulky, hazel-haired, blue-eyed being that he had analyzed before. Those eyes were narrowed and seemed to be glaring a hole through the hooded figure that had cracked that ever so inconsiderate joke. They seemed to argue for a few moments, but XI's mind was occupied with something else.

_He stuck up for…me?_

"_Enough._" XI found it remarkable that as soon as that regal voice spoke, every ounce of will to argue or continue on was completely shattered. It intrigued the pink-haired being. _What if I can be like that, someday…?_

"As I was saying… he is your new comrade for as long as Kingdom Hearts lay unfinished, and until then, he is named Marluxia."

Marluxia. The newly named man liked the sound of his new self-identity. It sounded vaguely familiar somehow…however, not recalling a single memory of his life before becoming a Nobody, could not place that familiarity.

"All are dismissed. Number V, stay."

As the hooded figure, obviously the one in charge, and number V, whoever that was, conversed about something or another, he saw the other members disappearing through portals that seemed to be made of darkness. He blinked in awe. Will he ever be taught to do that? So distracted was he by these curious portals that he failed to notice one opening right behind him. Marluxia jumped as he felt a massive hand grasp his shoulder, and he turned to face a rather amused-looking figure. He instantly recognized the oh-so-familiar face of the blue-eyed giant--the one who had defended him during the meeting.

"Come with me." His voice was strangely deep, though it fit his overall exterior. Marluxia could only stare at him, wide-eyed, in stupefied shock. How in the world had he appeared behind him without him noticing?

Making an amused sound in his throat, the man's lips twisted into the smallest of smiles. "You will learn how to portal soon enough." As to demonstrate, he held out his arm and did a sort of flicking motion with his wrist, and, like magic, a swirling blackness opened up in the general direction of the man's gesture, causing Marluxia's eyes to go wide with shock, raising his arms as if to defend himself from the unfamiliar thing.

This time, the ice-eyed man didn't attempt to hold back a small chuckle. "It will not hurt you. It is used merely for transportation." When Marluxia didn't show any sign of placating, the man sighed and offered his hand. "If it's any consolation."

For a second, the pink-haired man felt strange. He felt as if he should be offended and, if he had any pride at all, he would turn down the offer and be brave. However…he didn't feel as if he had anything to prove to him. It was almost as if...they were friends? As preposterous as it sounded, Marluxia had a feeling it may be true.

Without a word, he looked at the man, arm outstretched, and looked at him, as a lost puppy would look at a passerby in hopes of finding a home, and took his hand. The other man merely nodded and walked through the portal with Marluxia in hand.

As they walked in the darkness for a moment or two, the other man looked at Marluxia. "I am Number V. Lexaeus, if you may."

Lexaeus. He liked that name.

"Lexaeus…" Marluxia muttered under his breath, the name sounding funny in his voice, which he hadn't heard…ever, he thought.

Finding a burst of courage completely out of the blue, Marluxia looked at Lexaeus resolutely. "Thank you." As the other man raised an eyebrow, Marluxia looked broke his gaze, looking at the floor. He was sure he was imagining it, but he could have sworn he felt his face get…warmer? It was hard to explain. "…For standing up for me, back there."

Lexaeus's eyes widened a fraction, and he blinked a few times in surprise. He obviously wasn't expecting the question. He looked down almost exactly how Marluxia did moments earlier, and the pink-haired man briefly wondered if Lexaeus felt warm, as well. It must be pretty hot in these dark portals, he concluded.

"...'Welcome." He answered silently, lifting his gaze from the floor (which seemed to be pitch-black as well as everything else, Marluxia noted dully). Then, all was silent as the two walked, hand-in-hand, through the darkness, the pitch-black shadows their only witness.

--x--x--x--x--x--

**Whew, you know you need a life when it takes you 2 hours to write a lousy one-shot and you have to stop yourself from squealing like a fangirl at your own Fanfiction…-sigh- You gotta admit though, Newbie!Marluxia was pretty darned cute. X3**


	2. Complicated

**Yeah…I could NOT figure out for the life of me what to write for this theme, but my friend gave me an idea at the last minute. Thanks Michelle! ;D I messed around with the general idea a bit, but it's still the same idea you gave me at drama rehearsal. Thanks!**

2Complicated2

--x--x--x--x--x--

"…_And I promise you, XI, you will regret ever being _born!"

Those were the last words bellowed by a very distraught Number XII before the swish of a dark portal was heard and she was gone.

Marluxia could only stare stupidly at the spot where she was moments before…and sigh.

_Lesson learned,_ the Graceful Assassin noted with a trace of remembered disturbance, _never comment on Larxene's atrocious bedhead…unless you want some kind of unholy punishment._

The Assassin let out a long sigh. He was not looking forward to tomorrow.

xxxxx

"XI, you will be paired with Lexaeus today. Both of you are on Heartless duty in Agrabah. Leave as soon as you are ready."

Marluxia nearly fell to his knees with relief. He was completely expecting Larxene to somehow end up paired with him for a recon mission or something. At the same time, he was now slightly more suspicious. _If that wasn't it…what is the _real _revenge?_

His worries melted away when he saw Lexaeus approaching him. That gave him something else to ponder.

_How is it that I can worry all day, and then see him and everything seems okay?_

He shook his head slightly. He wouldn't think about that now, not when they had a mission to do.

As Lexaeus came within range of him, the Hero told him, in a monotone voice, "We are paired for this mission, no? We should get going." Marluxia merely nodded and held out his arm, halfway into the motions of conjuring up a dark portal, until…

"_Marly~!_" A frighteningly familiar shriek shattered the overall piece of the room, making Marluxia flinch at both the awful nickname and the general loudness of the sound. He didn't even have the chance to ask before he was tackle-hugged from behind, fighting to keep his balance and not fall flat on his face.

"What in Kingdom Hearts--"

"I missed you, Marly!" Larxene cried. "I haven't seen you in nearly a whole _day_!" She was preaching in such an overdramatic way that, in any other situation, Number XI would have laughed. Now, he was just thoroughly disturbed.

Everyone's heads were turned now, but Larxene showed no sign of stopping. "How could you, Mar-Mar?! I thought…I thought we had something special!" She was such a good actor, he could have sworn her eyes had tears in them.

_Tears of joy,_ he thought icily._ So this is her revenge. _Thinking quickly, he decided to not respond and show as little emotion as possible, assuming that would drive her off sooner than later.

After a few moments of silence from Marluxia's end, Larxene twisted her lips into a sick smile.

"Awww, it's okay, I know you feel oh-so horrible about hurting my nonexistent feelings!" She cackled gleefully, probably for dramatic effect.

"…but, I know how you can make it up to me." XII tapped him on the nose flirtatiously, and Marluxia had to make it a point not to flinch away in disgust. "Meet me in my room after your mission…" she grabbed him by the collar. "…alone." She grinned so wide it could rival the Cheshire Cat and, with an evil glint in her eye he was sure that only he could see, she opened a portal and she was gone.

It took XI a good few seconds to regain enough composure to look at his comrade, Number V, with a straight face. Without a word, trying to ignore the unmistakable sounds of Xigbar and Demyx sniggering in the corner, he opened a dark portal and curtly motioned Lexaeus to follow.

xxxxx

Lexaeus had trouble processing what just happened.

One moment, he was pondering why the Graceful Assassin looked so troubled. The next moment, he watched as he was slugged from behind with a surprise tackle-hug, and he knew why Marluxia looked a bit off.

Or so he thought.

The ever-silent Hero watched as Larxene said disturbing things to the pink-haired man, and waited for his comebacks that never came. By the time Larxene had disappeared, Lexaeus was utterly confused. He knew Marluxia well enough to know that he never, _ever_ took shit from _anyone._ Whether it be about his hair, or his unusual flower power, anyone who insulted XI was guaranteed imminent payback.

This time…he just stayed completely silent and looked at the ground, like he had lost the will to fight entirely. He took a few more moments to glower at the plain grey tile some more, before he opened a dark portal, a little more quickly than usual, he noted, and mentioned Lexaeus to follow without a word. Not a single _word_.

Needless to say, the mission was extremely awkward. When heartless appeared in front of them, begging to be destroyed, they both fought silently, without even glancing at one another.

It wasn't until the mission was over that one of them got the courage to speak.

xxxxx

"Wait."

Marluxia stopped in mid-gesture, in the middle of opening the dark portal to RTC. He briefly wondered, with a flash of annoyance, how many more times he was going interrupted when opening a portal.

"What?"

At his curt inquiry, XI saw his partner's eyes narrow, and he guessed that he was holding back many more choice words when he replied,

"Do not "what?" me, XI. Exactly what was going on before," He paused, searching for words. "With Larxene."

Those were the exact words Marluxia was dreading to hear. _Shit,_ he cursed mentally. He purposely didn't say a word the whole damn mission so that this wouldn't happen, yet it did anyways_. Lady Luck is PMS'ing today, it seems._ The pink-haired man noted sourly.

An inevitable silence followed, before it broke a few moments later to the sound of the Graceful Assassin's awkward tone. He was looking down as if he were ashamed to look Lexaeus in the face.

"It's…complicated."

The Hero merely cocked an eyebrow. "Complicated how?"

xxxxx

Lexaeus, to this day, still doesn't know what happened. All he knew was the warning Marluxia had given him before they RTC'd.

"_Never, ever, comment on Larxene's atrocious bedhead. Just…don't."_

**Ew goodlord this was awful XD I was so annoyed with trying to get this over with I kinda rushed. But don't worry, I know exactly what I'm gonna do for theme 3, so don't be put off by this theme's suckiness. ^_^**


	3. Making History

3Making History3

--x--x--x--x--x--

XI and V were on a rare Destiny Island mission. Xemnas usually never assigned missions there due to the very minimal amount of heartless and the general desertedness of the area. The only known inhabitants were a small silver-haired boy number VI had spotted there once--and he couldn't have been more than eight or nine, he had said.

They'd been sent here on recon; the Superior said to scan the area thoroughly ("Also look for other Nobodies…we would not be worse off with a Number XII.") and, if there was nothing suspicious or useful on the island, he would close it off to all missions entirely, as to not waste the Organization's time searching a barren place for heartless and oddities.

The island certainly looked barren, Marluxia noted. Neither he nor V were surprised. Destiny Islands had summer-like weather all-year round, and with the scorching heat, they both equally disliked the "hoods up at all times" policy for other worlds. They'd barely been here for thirty seconds and the two Nobodies wanted nothing more than to remove their jackets and "let the sun shine in", as Xigbar once put it when he was talking to Demyx in the Gray Room…a story for another time.

Adjusting to the feeling of sand beneath his feet, Marluxia glanced at his partner. "Let's make this quick, before the heat gets to the both of us." He smiled when Lexaeus gave a small laugh in agreement.

The Assassin gazed at the seemingly endless horizon and internally sighed. This was going to be a long day.

Then, he glanced at the Silent Hero.

At least he wasn't alone.

Marluxia smiled to himself.

Maybe this wasn't going to be such a bad day, after all.

_Maybe._

xxxxx

"What's this?"

Marluxia tentatively poked at a squishy, yellow object lying in the sand with the tip of his scythe. Lexaeus, eyeing it curiously, picked it up by the stem it was attached to. The fluorescent yellow thing was in the shape of a five-pointed star, and it was thick and slightly spongy and had a scarcely noticeable crease running right through its line of symmetry.

They both just stared at it for a bit, until XI, noticing the crease, got an idea.

"Lexaeus, hold the left side of it. I want to try something."

The Hero shot a questioning glance at his partner, but did as he was told and shifted his grip to the left side of the object. Marluxia grabbed the other end and tugged at it with slight force. Almost immediately, it broke apart, leaving each Nobody with an exactly symmetrical piece.

Marluxia, slightly proud that his idea worked, examined the now half-star, and noticed that the inside was very similar to the inside of an orange or a grapefruit.

Lexaeus spoke up before XI had a chance to. "It appears to be a fruit of some kind." Apparently, he had noticed the same thing Marluxia had.

Said pink-haired man furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "I wonder…why is it that it seems to be made to come apart like that?" He questioned, voicing his thoughts aloud.

"You haven't heard the legend of the Paopu fruit?" 

Both Nobodies jumped slightly at the new, unfamiliar voice, and turned to the source of the noise. Behind them stood a small brown-haired girl, wearing and orange-yellow dress. She couldn't have been more than seven or eight years old. Lexaeus opened his mouth to send the girl away, but Marluxia spoke before he could get the command out of his mouth.

"What legend do you speak of?"

The Hero narrowed his eyes at the neophyte's naïve curiosity, but couldn't be too angry with him, for he, too, was curious. They both watched the little girl inquisitively.

"The legend of the Paopu fruit is really common, I can't believe you don't know it! The legend says that if two people share one, their destinies will be intertwined. They'll be a part of each other's lives no matter what." She explained, exerting some difficulty speaking the larger words.

The two Nobodies let this information sink in. _That's why it seems meant to come apart,_ Marluxia reasoned in the silence. _They're meant to share with someone._

Someone.

The Assassin sent a small glance Lexaeus's way, blinking in surprise as he found the dark-hooded form looking right back in Marluxia's general direction. Both caught in the act, they pointedly looked away in opposite directions. For the first time during this trip, Marluxia was thankful for the dark, hooded jacket, for it concealed his face, which was likely the same shade of his bright, pink hair.

"Are you two going to share a Paopu fruit?"

The girl, blissfully unaware of the awkward air around her, motioned to the yellow fruit held in both of their hands, looking up at them with innocent green eyes. Both of them started in realization, and Lexaeus hurriedly cleared his throat and turned away, and he, too, was thankful for the hood that shadowed his features.

"No. We would not even consider that. W-We were just curious as to what it was. That is all."

Noticing the slight stammer as he spoke, the little girl giggled. "Whatever you say. Bye-bye now!" Before they could get a word in edgewise, she ran off, likely in the direction of where she lived.

Marluxia and Lexaeus, both helplessly embarrassed now, just stood in silence, Paopu fruit still in hand. After a few moments of complete and utter silence, the former growled in slightly uncharacteristic annoyance, more at himself than anything else, and tossed the fruit aside.

"We have a mission to do." He said curtly, motioning Lexaeus to follow. Blinking in surprise, he nodded, and half-heartedly flung the half-Paopu fruit away as he followed the Assassin.

Desperate to not let more awkward silence fall between them, Marluxia kept up the one-sided conversation. "Since we have already scanned most of the island, all we must do now is scan the northern areas of--"

"_Ahhh! Someone help! Help!!_"

A loud, piercing cry intercepted XI's sentence. They both jerked their head at the sound of the cry, and saw a small figure, likely a child, splashing in the sea, trying in vain to keep afloat. There were chunks of wood floating around the figure, obviously once part of a small raft or boat.

Both of them shared a glance, all discomfort between them vanishing at the situation before them. Even without a heart, they both knew that saving the drowning child was the right thing to do, and even with a conscience clouded by the darkness of the Organization, they both would have trouble with the fact that they let a small child drown.

Sharing a mutual nod, they both ran towards the waves, shuddering as the ice-cold water reached their skin but diving in nonetheless. Lexaeus, being the stronger of the two, swam noticeably faster than Marluxia and reached the child in just a few moments. Getting a closer look, it appeared to be a young boy about the same age as the girl they saw earlier.

The boy, noticing the two Nobodies in the water, attempted to swim towards them, only getting a waveful of water in the face. The Hero, now in good range of the boy, turned his back to him and motioned to it. "Get on." The boy latched on without complaint and Lexaeus began to swim towards the shore.

Just then, Marluxia, floating close by, saw a considerably large wave creep up from behind them, towering threateningly behind Lexaeus and the boy.

"Watch out!" The Assassin yelled, attempting to warn them, but it was too late. The wave crashed down right on top of the two, sending them underwater, creating a splash so large Marluxia had to dive underwater to avoid getting thrown back by the force of it. When he came up, the only thing he saw were the remains of the raft or boat, no sign of either Lexaeus or the boy, and the Assassin began to panic.

His panic was calmed, however, when a few seconds later, the two rose a few feet away from him, coughing and spluttering. The Hero was moving at a slightly slower pace now, obviously fatigued, and he constantly glanced over his shoulder for any more waves.

Much to Lexaeus's dismay, the wave had washed all of the wooden debris further up-shore, and it now blocked their path. He halted, unsure of how to proceed now. Thinking quickly, Marluxia summoned his scythe and, in one swift movement, swung it just above the surface of the water and knocked all of the wood aside, clearing the way to shore. With a quick nod Marluxia's way, Lexaeus continued towards the sand, Marluxia following close behind.

Arriving at shore rather quickly, they stumbled forward a bit until they were completely out and away from the water. The three fell to their hands and knees, gasping for air and spluttering water from their systems. The two Nobodies lay on the sand for at least a minute, until they got to their senses and stood up, brushing the sand off the black coats. They were jarred out of their fatigued daze by the boy, now hopping up and down in ecstasy.

"You guys saved me! I thought I was gonna die when my raft got hit by a really big wave, and I dunno how to swim yet so I tried but then I was drowning…and then you guys came! You guys were so brave and you worked like a team because one of you carried me on your back and one of you moved the wood out of the way with that cool axe-thingy and…" He paused from his large run-on sentence to look at them both with large, thankful eyes. Then, without warning, he pulled both Nobodies into a cramped, awkward bear-hug. "Thank you!"

It took Marluxia and Lexaeus a couple of seconds to notice how close their bodies were and how tightly they were being crushed together. Then, when they both simultaneously turned to look at each other, their faces were so close that Marluxia could see his partner's face clearly even through the shadows of the hood. He also noticed something else…how close their lips were.

Both of them started at the realization, and they hastily pushed the boy away and turned their heads away from each other, Lexaeus clearing his throat awkwardly, and Marluxia looking at the ground and blushing madly and again thanking Kingdom Hearts the hood that hid his face.

"We must leave now." The Hero muttered gruffly, gesturing to open a dark portal, which the kid seemed unfazed by. As the two turned and entered the portal, the boy took a step towards them.

"Hey! My name's Sora!"

But the portal was already closed, and Sora's words went unheard to the two Nobodies.

xxxxx

**This is so totally late, I'm sorry! D: But to make up for it I made this Theme twice as long as the other ones! ^_^ Also, I need ideas for Theme 4, Rivalry, so please review and maybe your idea will be chosen!**

**Also, yeah, I know this isn't exactly "making history" but I couldn't think of anything else! XD;**


End file.
